Juan Castro Rumors

Why didn't the Dodgers offer arbitration to Type A free agent Randy Wolf? They feared he'd accept and get $15MM. Do you agree with that logic? The Dodgers were given one last chance to sign Wolf this morning, but GM Ned Colletti passed.

The Rockies have tentative plans to meet with Rafael Betancourt's representatives this coming Monday, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.

As Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, Donavan Tate, the Padres' third overall selection in the June draft, was injured in an ATV accident. He broke his jaw, but should be ready for Spring Training.

Jason Marquis had a falling out with the Rockies, so Jon Heyman of SI.com suggests he isn't likely to accept the team's offer of arbitration.

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote about potential fits for Jermaine Dye, noting that the Yankees have discussed him internally. Crasnick says geography will not be a major factor for Dye.

MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweeted comments from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos regarding their search for a catcher. Anthopoulos is eyeing some potential non-tenders. Dioner Navarro and John Buck come to mind, with Kelly Shoppach going to the Rays.

The market for Miguel Tejada should be decent now that he certainly will not cost a draft pick. SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Cardinals, Phillies, Giants, Rangers, and Astros are interested. Rangers?

MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers officially announced their minor league deal with John Halama today.

Nick Green's agent Tom O'Connell tells Ken Davidoff of Newsday his client is drawing "significant interest" on Major League contracts.

11:50am:Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that both the Dodgers and Phillies are pursuing utility infielder Juan Castro. The Phillies are looking at him as a replacement for Eric Bruntlett (who isn't likely to return), while Dodgers are trying to retain him after he hit .277/.311/.339 in 121 plate appearances for them last year.

The 37-year-old Castro signed a minor league deal with LA last season, though he spent basically the entire season in the big leagues. He made $700K while playing three infield spots and left field in 2009.

The White Sox are still trying to figure out their center field situation, but they are not involved on pricey veterans such as Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr.

Fantasy alert: Rosenthal names David Aardsma as the likely leader for the Mariners closer job, with Chad Cordero and Brandon Morrow lingering.

The Dodgers "continue to balk at Pedro Martinez's $5MM asking price."

Rockies utility man Jeff Baker, who is out of options, is drawing interest from the Phillies, Astros, and Pirates. Rosenthal suggests recently-demoted Kyle Kendrick as a possible target for Colorado, assuming the Phils can move Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs to clear a spot. Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Yankees are unlikely to acquire Baker.

The Blue Jays have been scouting shortstops Chin-Lung Hu, Juan Castro, and others in hopes of finding someone they can stash at Triple A for insurance.

Nothing much to report with Manny Ramirez – there has been no new offer from the Dodgers yet but the two sides are still talking. That two-year $45MM offer Scott Boras dissed isn’t looking too bad anymore.

Boras is "just looking for a situation" for Andruw Jones. I see. Boras had a meeting in November with Ned Colletti and Joe Torre and the three decided to rework the contract and get him out of L.A.

Hernandez says Trevor Hoffman remains a possibility but the Dodgers haven’t heard back from Takashi Saito.

The Dodgers are not pursuing Pedro, but he’s narrowed his choices to two teams in each league according to his agent.

Common misconception Joe and I keep running into: signing one of the 15 Type A free agents who were offered arbitration will only cost the signing team one draft pick. The player’s old team also gets a second pick, but it doesn’t come from the new team. It’s just squeezed into the supplemental round. Check out a deeper explanation here.

Nuggets from a Frank Coonelly chat: he expects the Pirates to make room on the 40-man roster for a potential Rule 5 addition, and they’d still like to re-sign Doug Mientkiewicz.

Royals GM Dayton Moore did a Q&A with fans at MLB.com. His priority is adding right-handed relief help after trading Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez. Also, he says Mark Teahen is "more important to our team today then he was in all of 2008 — and he was very important to our team in ’08."

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the D-Backs are the favorite to land David Eckstein from the Blue Jays, prior to tonight’s deadline for players to be eligible for the post-season. Previously we heard that both the D-Backs and the Angels were in pursuit of Eckstein.

Eckstein, 33, is almost certain to be traded before the deadline for setting postseason rosters at midnight Sunday. While talks are fluid, the Jays currently are more inclined to trade with the D-backs, sources say.

Rosenthal says the Angels are now considering other options, including Omar Vizquel of the Giants and Juan Castro of the Orioles.

THURSDAY: With Maicer Izturis out for the season and Erick Aybar day-to-day, the Angels are looking to acquire a veteran backup shortstop. Backup at second base wouldn’t be a bad idea either, in case Howie Kendrick‘s injury is serious. Mike DiGiovanna names John McDonald, David Eckstein, Marco Scutaro, Juan Castro, and Jamey Carroll as targets. The numbers on these guys:

Fordin spoke to Andy MacPhail, and the implication is that the Orioles’ midseason hunt for a shortstop may have come to an end with Castro. Castro is understandably happy, as there aren’t too many places where he’d have a shot at a starting gig. I’m sure MacPhail will continue hunting for a long-term option at short, even if it carries into the offseason.